


My Kingdom

by BrytteMystere



Category: Seduce Me (Visual Novel)
Genre: Act as if you could make out with Sam and Erik before the Malix situation ends, Based on the "My Kingdom" end, F/M, I renamed Mika, Kathy for short, She's Katheryn Anderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-07-21 18:57:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7399753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrytteMystere/pseuds/BrytteMystere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Power"<br/>"What kind of power?"<br/>"Anything. I just want to have it"<br/>A deal was struck then, and its consequences would be far more deep than any of them could have guessed. Katheryn Anderson was ready to take on the world. (Raiting may change)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My End Is My Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katheryn Anderson makes a deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set after the “My Kingdom” ending (although having romanced Sam the most of all the guys up to Malix’s defeat). For those who don’t know about it, you make a deal with Diana after the boys leave, your memories for power. She agrees, turns you into a demon (a succubus) and sends you to her castle in the Abyssal Plains. By the way, I renamed Mika “Kathy” (short for “Katheryn”).

            “What if I traded them to you instead? You seem like a reasonable business woman. A trade is better than forcing me to give in, right?”

            Kathy was desperate, her mind shifting quickly through everything she had been able to read about Demon Magic since that fateful morning at her grandfather’s study. It wasn’t much, she knew, and everything more or less counted on Diana being willing to listen in the first place... Seeing as she was currently being hanged over a pit of death, Kathy could see serious faults on said guess, and yet, her only hope was betting in Diana being forgiving enough to listen to reason. Demon Magic worked better with consent, after all.

            “... Well? Speak your terms. What do you want in exchange?”

It took every bit of the supposedly-future-CEO in Kathy to keep her face neutral, and her relieved sigh trapped on her throat. Diana was willing to listen, and that was already a huge improvement. But she _was_ still dangling over a beast ready to devour her, so Kathy couldn’t allow herself the luxury to relax yet.

            “Well, what _can_ you give me in return for them”?

It was a stalling question, or maybe it would be better to call it “testing the grounds”, because Kathy knew already exactly what she wanted. **_Power_**. Power to be able to defend herself, better than with taekwondo or the few spells she had managed to memorize from her grandfather’s journals. Power so no one would ever again be able to dangle her over her death. And yet, she was _negotiating_ , so she knew it would be better to act with care around the issue, unless Diana herself proposed it.

            “I’m a demon. I can give you anything within reason: money, men, women, power. Name it. Just make it worth the price.”

            Kathy was almost giddy. She had! Diana had actually proposed it herself! Now the trick would be to try to sound as neutral as possible. Her desperation would only leave her vulnerable, and in her current situation, that could prove fatal.

A part of her mind breezed through the other proposals, an automatic instinct in her trying to always consider all the options, and yet it was easy to discard them. _Money?_ She had more than enough on royalties for Anderson’s Toys’ products alone, without even taking into account the fortune her grandfather had been saving into an account for her alone since her birth. _Men or women?_ After Sam and his brothers, she sincerely doubted that anyone else could be enough.

            Sam and her had only made out, yes, and yet even that was enough to show her that no one could ever make her feel like _he_ had made her feel. Even before, when he took her first kiss and Erik her second, a part of her had already known that after them, there could be no one else. Everyone would pale, mere shadows to the magnificence she had experienced already. Even if she lost her memories of the Incubi brothers, Kathy knew that her body, at the very least, would always note the plainness.

            “Power.”

            She kept it simple. She also felt slightly proud at the fact that her voice hadn’t wavered at all.

            “What kind of power?”

            “Anything. I just want to have it.”

It was easier to say than to admit how blank her mind had become, seeing safety so near. Diana seemed agreeable, so... Maybe...?

            “Hahaha... you want power, but don’t know what kind of power you want... interesting human...”

Kathy wanted to retort, something like _What I really want is for that beast at my feet to disappear and you to leave me the hell alone_ , but her self-preservation instinct kept her from doing so. Being so close to salvation, jeopardizing their negotiations in any way that might push Diana to simply throw her into the beast’s waiting throat would be beyond foolish. Certainly not something her mind would allow.

Of course, Diana walking towards her and gripping her chin put an extra level of stress on Kathy, for she had noticed Diana’s examining glance, and was fairly unsure of what, exactly, did the succubus think she would find. Her eyes seemed to almost glow as her demonic stare was locked Kathy’s, which both scared her and made her feel warm and fuzzy, making her internally curse the enthrallment she was still so very vulnerable to.

Just when Kathy was starting to wonder if Diana wasn’t just toying with her hopes for fun, the succubus nodded, a small smirk painting her face. It was almost foreboding. Which wasn’t really soothed by her next words.

            “Well... since you didn’t specify what kind of power... Very well, human. Power you want, so power you shall have.”

Diana snapped her fingers, causing a large beam of purple and black light to shoot up from the pit beast below Kathy. She became consumed by it, shutting her eyes tightly. The world around her became dark and she didn’t want to open her eyes for any reason, fearing her impending death via pit beast.

            And yet... She couldn’t feel herself fall. She couldn’t even feel her own body. Darkness surrounded her and she felt weightless in its embrace.

 _Was that her wish? Where was she? Was she dead?_ But no, it couldn’t be. That couldn’t be what death was. What was going to happen to her? Why was she in darkness? Her feelings were a chaotic maelstrom and Kathy couldn’t think. Couldn’t scream. In the darkness, would anyone even hear her?

            “DIANA! WHERE ARE YOU?”

She could hear her voice empty into the darkness, with no echo at all. She was in an abyss, left alone with no one to turn to. Was that freedom? Power? Had Diana purposely twisted her wish?

            “You’re too chaotic for the world of humans, little girl. I’m going to give you something very valuable, so you best not squander the chance. You are to be reborn~, into a powerful creature. So powerful, the Demon Lord himself will learn fear. _And I’m going to give you the power to defeat him_.”

            Before Kathy could ever try to formulate an answer, she felt her body quake in pain, forcing her to curl over herself and finally tearing a cry from her lips. Her clothes burnt off her skin, and she watched in fright as her hands and feet began to darken into an inky and dangerous purple tint. The colour travelled through her skin, making her body twitch in both pain and fear.

Her composure shattered, the pain rushing through her too much to even think of holding back her agonized scream. It felt as if her skin was burning away, being replaced by a new shell. All in all, it was a torturous mutation.

She could feel marks engraving themselves into her flesh, turning her body in a purple tattoo gallery. As her head began to feel heavy, Kathy digged her fingers onto her temples, only to feel something growing from each side. She gripped onto the new additions to her head and gasped. _Horns_.

_Was I becoming a devil?... No. A demon?... Yes. I am a demon._

            Her life flashed before her eyes and burnt away like flowers in a wildfire. Each memory she held dear ceased to exist, for her mind could now only accept darkness.

 _She was a demon_. The name _Ezaeur_ reverberated in her head. Was that her name? Was it the name of someone close to her? She couldn’t place it, so she placed it into the darkness that was her mind as her first memory. She then closed her eyes and breathed.

When she opened them, she was staring into a castle hall, seated on a throne. She could hear shouts and pleas for help from the servants around her. They were scared of the threat that was coming their way. One even approached her and asked what they should do. She stared at the demon servant, recognizing him as her underling. _Another new memory_.

She crossed her legs and thought briefly. The Demon Lord was a powerful demon, willing to kill for territory. _New memory_. She smirked.

“Let him come. I’m ready.”

She could feel new memories of the world around her being drawn up from the darkness of her mind, telling her everything she needed to know about her situation.

            She was a succubus, and the new ruler of a territory the Demon King wanted. She wasn’t going to let him take it easily. She wouldn’t allow it. Watching as her underlings scrambled under her command, she instructed them specifically on what to do and how to prepare her new land for its intruder.

            She then remembered: Ezaeur had given her the power to defeat the Demon Lord while she was out on some mission or another. She would take it and become a new being.

Would the succubus return? Not likely. She was too weak to do so, after ripping open a tear to the human world. She would be on her little mission forever, leaving her with Ezaeur’s kingdom unless she found a powerful enough human to grant her access back. Ezaeur wouldn’t know that though, not until the very last minute.

_Too bad~_

            Her mind allowed her to see all the power she had, and she smirked at the thought of each spell in her mind being powerful enough to wipe out kingdoms.

_Yes. This is what I wanted. This is my calling. I’m free to carve my own path. I have the power to do it._

_And I was surely going to enjoy every minute of it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s that. This was mostly the end “My Kingdom”. Call it an introduction. I’ll upload this chapter and the second at the same time to compensate (since this was mostly Michaela’s work with very minor changes). Let’s see if my muse doesn’t leave me hanging!


	2. The End of the Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezaeur gets what she wanted... Or not.

            Ezaeur had finally done it.

Two human years had it taken her, to finally find the sons of the Demon Lord, as her energy reached new lows and she finally had to learn about the world her possible betrotheds were so keen about. It was harsh, and unnerved her to the core, but she told herself it would be worth it. She would save her kingdom, and her sister would grow in peace...

            Of the brothers, the bastard was, of course, the first to notice her.

They seemed to be celebrating something, as she noticed by the cake on the dinner table, and the quickly banishing smiles on the brother’s faces once they, too, realized she was standing on their dining room.

For a long while, no one said anything, the brothers merely staring at her as if their glares alone would make her vanish. Nonetheless, Ezaeur wouldn’t be swayed. She hadn’t lost Lilith knows how much time just to give up at the last moment. Her kingdom still counted on her.

            “It has been much longer than I expected, but I guess it’s finally time for us all to go back to the Abyssal Plains.”

            Her voice didn’t waver, and even exhausted as she was, Ezaeur refused to let them see anything but her strongest mask. She was supposed to make them forget about the human girl, too. And yet, her exhaustion made the task's possible success uncertain...

            Before she could finish her thoughts, however, Izroul’s sudden rise dragged her attention. He had left his chair so suddenly that it had fallen to the floor, and yet his thunderous expression kept her attention on his face. She had never considered the bastard brother much of a threat, and yet a shiver of fear ran through her when his blue gaze seemed to pierce her.

            “ _What. Did. You. Do. To Her?_ ”

It had a question’s inquiry right at the end, and yet the demand of his voice eerily reminded her that he, too, was the Demon Lord’s son in a rather disturbing fashion. His brothers seemed confused, noting Izroul’s rather extreme reaction, but they stayed on their places at one sharp gesture from Raestrao, the eldest.

Ezaeur quickly composed herself. She would _not_ be intimidated, sons of the Demon Lord or not.

            “You left the human with her memories intact. I made a deal with her for them, and she accepted it. There’s really nothing more to say about it, but if you most know, she’s most probably okay.”

            All the brothers tensed, their glances becoming sharper once they caught on who she was talking about. Izroul stood ramrod straight, coming uncomfortably close to her, barely concealed hostility in his every move.

            _“ **You threatened her.**_ ” he said, his voice acquiring his natural demonic tone, even as his glamor spell wavered, as if barely holding up “ ** _You took her memories and sent her to the Abyssal Plains..._** ”

            The words had barely left his lips when he was no longer the only brother on his feet. Ezaeur didn’t have time to dodge the blur that was Aomaris before he was holding her by her neck against one of the walls, the impact reverberating through her skull and keeping her from forming any coherent thoughts as the wall behind her dented. Uzaeris wasn’t far behind, to his brother’s right, his eyes golden and piercing her too, although she couldn’t exactly pay any attention to him as Aomaris kept suffocating her.

            A part of her kept insisting that maybe she should have waited to recover before going to confront the boys. But then, that could have meant to lose even one of them, which would have made the whole point moot.

            Dark spots were dancing on her vision when Raestrao’s sharp “ENOUGH!” cut through his brothers, Aomaris releasing her with obvious reluctance.

            “ _If you hurt her..._ ”

His jade eyes were firm on her, and she truly wondered how that girl could have had such an impact on them.

            “ ** _She helped us. Housed us. Fed us. Her grandfather took us away from our father’s vile realm, and you wonder why we would care?_** ”

Izroul’s voice, again, reacted to her thoughts. And yet, he wasn’t her focus at that moment.

            Still recovering her breath from Aomaris’ brutish actions, Ezaeur’s eyes looked at the figure of the one she would have most likely married, had they not run away from the Demon World, renouncing to their birth rights, their fates. His golden stare was colder than any glacier, and she knew her fear had become visible to them all, if only for a second.

            “What. Did. You. Do. To Katheryn, Diana?”

Uzaeris’ expression alone left no doubts of what he intended to do if the answer displeased him, and by the looks of it, Aomaris and Zecaeru would gladly join him, if Izroul didn’t get her first. Knowing that if she said it aloud she would probably get interrupted, she merely stared at the bastard son and directed her thoughts to him.

He paled then, all the anger draining from his body, a sorrowful look on his eyes. For him, who so longed to be human, her gift to the human probably looked more like a curse.

            “You transformed her. Into a demon. Like us.”

            “She wanted power. She didn’t specify which kind. I gave her what most suited her character.”

            Izroul’s expression darkened again.

            “You were holding her over certain death. And you wonder why she chose power? Kathy has never liked to feel powerless. And you... _you_ took advantage of her vulnerability to trick her into being turned into a demon. Or will you try to tell me that sending her to your realm, as powerful as she was, was completely altruistic? Without any memories?”

            By the end his voice was shaking, and his brothers had exchanged looks that clearly conveyed their intentions.

            “Well,” started Uzaeris “it seems like the Princess needs our help...”

Ezaeur felt almost giddy. They were going back! They were-

            “We’ll get the Miss and we’ll leave the Abyssal Plains. Don’t think _for a second_ that you’ve managed to trap us, Diana. We’ll get Katheryn Anderson _and come back_. To our home. The human world.”

 

            She could only stare at Raestrao, equally victorious and defeated. They were going back to the Abyssal Plains. That’s all she let herself think about.


	3. Haunt Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a Queen gets her title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Here we go a little back in time... I just had to show the Demon War, didn’t I? At least a little. Also, a bit on the boys before Diana found them (remember, this second scene is a year apart from the first chapter’s events).

            The _Queen_ , as her subjects had taken to call her, faced her last battle.

Her whole body tingled, excitement making her purple markings throb, as her bloodlust threatened to tint her sight with a red hue. She breathed, as Sergeant, one of her generals, had taught her, and she felt her control return readily enough, her bloodlust a firm weapon in her arms, instead of merely a distracting emotion.

It had taken _six days_ , to reach that perfect moment. Her whole body vibrated with the adrenaline that always seemed to fill her just before combat. There, at the top of a cliff, calling her army to arms... about to start the last battle against the Demon Lord, who she had so delectably cornered in his very own castle against the Decaying Sea.

The Queen had never felt more alive.

            And so it began.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            Dawn was already upon them, and the celebrations had finally given pass to contented rest, as her army’s tiredness finally settled in.

            With regards to the Queen herself, she lied in a bathtub, happy to be free at last from the bloody remains of the Demon Lord that had clung to her skin, hit after hit after hit.

She knew she had lost herself in the frenzy, for Saero had had to literally tear her away from what remained of the corpse, telling her again and again about their victory, and how the Demon Lord was dead already and she could harm him no further.

            She still didn’t know why she had acted like that. But then, maybe seeing the corpses of Ezaeur’s family had had a bigger impact on her than expected. As much as her feelings towards the succubus were a convoluted mess she still hadn’t made any effort to start unravelling, she _knew_ that Ezaeur was the closest thing to a mother she could ever claim to have. And, didn’t that make those corpses her family, too?

            Ezaeur had been the start of her own life as a succubus, and even if the Queen didn’t know how or why (the details were blurry, and blurred further every passing day), she knew that _that_ was a fact.

 

            She was crowned the very next night, with the full moon at its peak, the Abyssal Plains united under her banner.

Thus, her reign, which would be noted as the most peaceful and prosper since Lilith, began.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            Sam could honestly say that _she_ still haunted him.

He was, of course, far from being the only one. And yet, all of them had found their own ways to keep themselves from dwelling in the past.

            James had started his very own company, and Matthew chose freely to join him in said endeavour. Sam knew that his eldest brother liked to drown himself in papers, in his work, and that Matthew was happy to follow his lead in doing so, because it kept them rooted in place. It kept them from ever trying to go back to her, and it seemed that it made it easier for them to act as if they didn’t miss her too.

            Erik, as well, pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion, and the brothers acted as if they didn’t know about the closet full of female clothes no one would ever wear, always present no matter how many houses they lived in. He could have sold them, for they were indeed his absolute best works, but his brothers knew that Erik had sewn them for _her_ , and thus wouldn’t stand anyone else ever wearing them.

            It bordered the most absolute ridiculousness, how quickly she had left her mark on them, and yet...

Maybe it was an overgrown sense of gratefulness, for she had indeed saved them, fed them, housed them, when they needed it the most. And yet, as much as he wished he could just tell himself that that was it, Sam knew it was more... there was far more to it.

            He, after all, still struggled to keep himself from going back to her, steal one last kiss, hold her and never ever let go again.

            As much as he had tried to forget her, in a misguided attempt to stop the pain in his chest every time something reminded him of her, he quickly realized that trying to banish her memory was worse than being reminded of her.

            One quiet afternoon, when they both had been temporally free from their respective jobs, Sam had finally asked Erik _why_ he kept on drawing her, sewing her clothes she would never have any chance to wear, _why_ did he keep getting lost in daydreams the few times he allowed himself to play the piano, her nickname on his lips and a fading smile when he realized she wasn’t there.

            Erik, who had in fact been drawing again, _Katheryn_ , in a marvellous white dress he would never actually sew no matter how many times he drew it, stopped as suddenly as if Sam had actually teared the sketchbook from his hands.

            And Sam almost felt guilty, but he _had to know_.

Erik, of course, stayed quiet for a long time, long enough for his brother to wonder if he would ever actually answer, his gaze lost before the first word made its way through his lips, as if forced to do so.

            “I need to apologize to her, somehow. You know it too, don’t you? Feeling as if you’ll never be full again, no matter how much you feed. Not without _her_. And feeding, from others, now feels like... a betrayal, in a sense? I know you feel it too, Sam. You and I, the only ones to taste her lips, _we know_. The others may eventually forget her, but she may as well have branded us. And I know we said we would leave her life, let her return to normalcy... But if she ever says my name, I know I’ll go. I know you would, too, and really, in the end, can we even doubt _for a second_ that Damien wouldn’t do the same? Or Matthew, or James, as much as they like to pretend they’re over her? She _touched us_. And maybe it’s because she saved our lives, maybe it was because we all found each other at our most vulnerable moment, maybe it’s because we all lost the very same important person in our lives, who knows... But she left a piece of herself with each one of us, and this... _this_ is the only way I can acknowledge it. Until she calls my name. If she ever does.”

 

            His brother then proceeded to lock himself in his room, but Sam understood.

It seemed that Harold Anderson’s granddaughter had left a mark in them only compared to her grandfather’s. And now, wasn’t _that_ extremely ironic?


	4. Take Away Everything That I Am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezaeur learns the consequences of her actions. Someone's hunger gets out of control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been playing Seduce Me 2, and let me tell you, not only is James’ vision extra creepy, but one of Sam’s endings left me in tears. The Monster Is Dead, indeed. Thanks to NickeltheRed for being there for me with this! (You rock, I love you, dear)

            It happened when the night was at its peak.

The Queen still didn’t know her name, but she had made sure to stay tuned to Ezaeur, at least once the Demon Lord had died and she had been crowned as the Queen of the Abyssal Plains. Therefore, it was rather easy to notice the situation, when the succubus tried to open a way between the worlds, just to realize she was unable to do so.

            Now, if she had wanted to be petty, she could have left Ezaeur up there, in whichever mess she may have found herself... But she still needed to learn her name, and to her knowledge, only her fellow succubus could reveal it to her. Thus, she promptly called Shadow and allowed him to use her energy to power the summoning.

            It would be draining, this much she knew, for she had already spent too much energy in the last months. Looking back, she had been extremely naïve in thinking that everything would be alright after the Demon Lord’s death. The Abyssal Plains were fully hers, yes, and all its habitants had sworn loyalty to her, during her crowning as their Demon Queen and during the following days, but the Abyssal Plains had _felt_ the madman’s tyranny for far too long, deep wounds in the land and its habitants... To make things even worse, many kingdoms had been utterly devastated by the late Demon Lord’s army.

            So many had died at his hands, so many had laid broken at his mercy...

She still shivered when she remembered the Harem rooms; all those unfortunate souls who had met their ends at the hands of the Demon Lord’s hated imps... A last tragedy at his orders. She could almost hear his cursed laugh again, remembering how the harem veils, as colourful as they had been, hadn’t fully hidden—

            Her thoughts were cut short when a sharp pain pierced her chest, leaving her breathless and in the very brink of collapse. She could hear Shadow promptly ordering someone to take her to her rooms, and felt herself be drawn into the shadows, before she was lost to the world.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            Before Ezaeur could start to even think about mustering the words to tell the incubi of her failure, a pentagram appeared right under her feet, hands grabbing her towards it. The brothers, though, were faster, holding onto her as she was dragged into the pentagram, as if they thought this was all her doing, trying to escape their wrath.

            They all fell in a painful heap onto the floor of her castle’s war room, Saero quickly rushing to his mistresses’ aid. It felt rather good to see him, and seeing as her castle was still up and the war room seemed undamaged, she allowed herself a moment to hope that the Demon Lord hadn’t struck yet. Now _that_ felt rather nice too, almost like the best kind of euphoria, and yet her mind quickly focused on the detail that was resonating loudly into her mind: _she_ hadn’t been able to tear a way back into the Abyssal Plains again, and yet she did know of someone whose power would certainly allow her such a feat.

            “Where is _the girl_ , Saero?” her voice was demanding, and yet she knew perfectly well that Katheryn was truly the key to her kingdom’s salvation, so she allowed herself a reprieve from the guilt that would have normally followed to using such tone against her loyal guard.

            “My lady, the Queen is currently resting. It seems that bringing you back took a greater toll on her than expected, although I can guess it was mostly due to your unexpected... company.”

            Ezaeur promptly ignored Saero’s jealousy towards Raestrao, having had her whole attention snatched by another part of his statement.

            “... _Queen_?”

            Saero was carefully neutral this time, his spear held tightly by his side as he forced himself to keep his cool. His eyes were still fixed in the incubi brothers, who had raised rather quickly, and kept staring at his mistress with gazes clearly hostile. But Ezaeur had asked, and he would do his best to answer as truthfully as he could in the presence of the Demon Lord’s sons.

            “Yes. The war took a toll on her, and as much as her generals have tried to get her to recover, she refuses to do so by the usual means. Nonetheless, she has shown a liking for Sweet Flowers, and they seemed to help, for she was looking rather healthier yesterday. If I were to guess, bringing five unexpected beings with you through the worlds worsened her condition again. I expect Shadow to find energy for her soon, though. We still have many war prisoners waiting their executions, so she should be okay by next morning...”

            Ezaeur’s narrowed gaze informed him that she found certain parts of his speech rather curious, and he would gladly tell her everything she wished to know, once they were away from the incubi’s earshot...

            “Bring us to her.” his mistress’ voice had clearly just issued a command, and even as he wanted to deny her companions any access to the Queen, his loyalty to Ezaeur had always been stronger. He had sworn his life to her, and thus he would comply. He would just have to watch for the incubi, and if any of them tried _anything_ , he would be more than happy to set them straight.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            By Diana’s reactions alone, James would have guessed that the castle wasn’t as she had left it.

His gaze rapidly crossed Damien’s, and he knew his brother was listening rather intently to whatever nor the guard nor Diana herself saw fit to share verbally. By Damien’s paling expression, it definitely wasn’t any kind of good news.

            Erik had hidden behind his playboy face again, although James, knowing his brother as he did, could still see the dangerous focus his eyes subtly had on Diana. And James would have been proud to note that Sam wasn’t glaring daggers at Diana’s back, if he wasn’t perfectly aware that his brother was as on edge as her guard, ready to fight the man Diana had called “Saero” at a second’s notice. Matthew, meanwhile, had an innocent smile fixed on his face, even as he seemed to be twirling something in his pockets, which James could have sworn were his faithful knives.

            Not that James himself was unaffected. But he preferred to think that his poker face properly hid his inner turmoil. Truly, the guard’s little story had left him unbalanced, for he was almost sure that the woman he had been speaking about was in fact Katheryn Anderson.

            He had, of course, heard Damien’s report on what Diana had apparently done, and yet a part of him still refused to believe that Miss Anderson was anything but safe in the Human World, living the safe human life they had left her to, maybe having moved on to something else (or rather, _someone_ , insisted a rather annoying part of his brain).

He wasn’t jealous ( _no_ , truly, he **_wasn’t_** ). James would have gladly helped her get ready for her wedding to someone else, making it as big and magical as she wished it to be, as long as she was _happy_ with them, whoever they may be. It only hurt to think that her happiness would need him and his brothers _out of the picture_ , and yet, even that, he could support.

As long as she was safe at least. As long as she was happy.

            To know that, by leaving her, they had left her vulnerable to Diana, _again_ , was a thousand times worse.

To know that she had had to make a deal with Diana, pinned against certain death or the removal of her memories, memories he knew were precious to her for their connection to Harold Anderson, the man who had brought him and his brothers to her, the man she had loved as her father when her own wasn’t up to the task...

To know that, unknowingly, they had given Diana a chance to take her humanity from her, the same humanity she had tried to protect by letting them leave her side, even as the pain in her eyes from doing so was clear for them all to see...

            It made him feel sick. Sick, at his utter uselessness when it came to protecting her (again), and angry. So very, very angry at Diana, and her plans, and at the monster of a father he had, for starting it all.

Couldn’t Diana have left Katheryn alone? Him and his brothers had truly thought that, by leaving, she would finally stop being targeted by their enemies. And yet, his obvious mistake had costed her the life she had wanted to have.

            For James could easily follow her judgement, if having to depend on guesses to do so.

Diana had had her pinned, threatened, and they had left her alone, with no word of warning.

_Had she tried to scream for help, only to find herself alone, abandoned?_

Katheryn, by her previous encounter (and kidnapping) with Malix, had to have known that she wasn’t strong enough to defeat a demon on her own, taekwondo or not. She also had to have known that she would be forced to lose her memories or murdered in the spot. Having learned at least a bit of her grandfather’s magic, she had to know that the promise of giving her memories up willingly could sway her opponent, and had rather blindly asked for power, power to defend herself so no one would ever put her in such situation again.

She had been desperate, though, this much he _felt_ , deep down, was right. If she had had more time to think, more time to make a proper deal, James was sure that she would have figured out a way to make her wish in such a way that it only benefitted her.

            James, of course, would have preferred that she had used their true names to call them to her side, and yet his own reason told him that if she hadn’t, it most probably would have had to do with the fact that she wasn’t sure of her survival should Diana hear her say even the start of them. Thus, Diana’s threat must have been quite immediate. _A way to kill in less than it took to breathe_...

            His thoughts weren’t helping him to keep his veneer of calmness.

He could feel three gazes focused on him as he finally snapped himself out of his thoughts, a quick look of understanding passing between him, Erik, Sam and Matthew.

            James would have expected to feel Damien’s gaze the hardest, though, and seeing that his youngest brother was almost as pale as a corpse, still focused on the guard’s mind, raised his already ascending dread several notches.

            The brothers had long ago developed a way to communicate without words or letters, and James would have put it to good use to ask Damien _what_ , exactly, had he found in the guard’s mind, when they reached their destination. The ornate black doors opened, and they were quickly allowed into the chamber.

 

            On a rather baroque bed, which its purple canopy barely let in sight, a succubus layed still, her face familiar even with the horns that framed it, dark hair showing shades of red, strangely fitting as were the dark lavender marks on her skin.

            Whatever he had been thinking was swallowed by a weakening _need_ that seemed to consume his every thought, and before he could even be aware of it, both him and his brothers were on their knees.

Her eyes opened then, a light burning in them and threatening to devour them all.

 The very next second, Sam was kneeling by her side in the bed, lips locked in a kiss he absolutely didn’t have any control of, and as the woman who used to be Katheryn Anderson took his brother’s energy until he could barely move, beckoning Erik at her side too, James could only wait for his turn to please her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... That escalated quite drastically, didn’t it? I swear I didn’t know it would go that way. This whole chapter just kinda wrote itself. That last scene was supposed to be tragically heart-warming, not degenerate into creepy territory so out of the blue. But... It... Kind of feels right this way?


	5. Give Me All Your Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revenge and courtships.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several looks at the past. Many thanks to my dearest friend NickeltheRed for letting me rant about this with her!

            A little girl danced to a beautiful melody in a great ballroom, just on the edges of her silver-haired knight’s camp of view.

She was happier than she ever remembered being, dressed in a pale blue gown, her silver crown catching the light in charming ways as she moved. The silver-haired knight had promised to take her on a walk to the park, once he finished his last toy, which she had graciously helped him with, her knight gifting her one of his marvellous smiles when she shared her input on the future toy.

            The little girl knew that her knight, unlike a certain strict and somewhat harsh individual, would keep his promises, and she would happily dance away to a thousand imaginary tunes while he finished his work if it meant being gifted with one of his special smiles again.

            “Kath...!”

A voice was trying to disturb her beautiful recollection, and the little girl did her best to ignore it and keep herself in the memory, with her silver-haired knight, who had stopped all of sudden, his sorrow-filled eyes catching hers as she understood that he would not be able to keep his promise.

She wanted to scream the _unfairness of it all_ to the Heavens, her heart filling with a pain she wasn’t sure she would survive, as her knight started to vanish into silver light. She was running, trying desperately to catch him, to keep him from leaving her alone again, but the pain numbed her limbs, making her slow, too slow.

            His lips formed an “ _I’m sorry, my dear_ ” before nothing remained, and her pained cry was interrupted by a harsh female voice in her head, repeating a name that left her branded, breathless, as the pain of her loss kept tearing her heart apart.

            “ ** _Katheryn! Katheryn! Katheryn Anderson, LET. HIM. GO!_** ”

Something was taken from her, and she suddenly felt hungry. Hungry, and so filled with a pained wrath that she barely understood the change in her scenery before she was wrapping her hands against a throat, her eyes fixed on the visible red ones

of her rival.

Saero, on the edges of her vision, made as if to attack her, only to stop at a gesture from his mistress.

            Ezaeur was looking at her with a mixture of sorrow and regret, as if she too had been witness to her silver-haired knight vanishing. As if she knew something more about...

Her heart beat once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Her mind cleared, the name she had been called as _resonating_ through her head, her fractured memories managing to piece themselves up, if only a little.

            The man of her vision... **_Harold Anderson_**.

            She could almost _see it_ , a warlock powerful enough to bring five incubi to the Human World, if with some help from the incubi themselves, doing so mostly to try to help them, even if in the process he also gained some protection for his beloved granddaughter.

            And Ezaeur herself, who had followed said incubi, carelessly spending in the process the life of the human caster.

            Wait.

_Spending... the life... of the human caster..._

**_Grandfather._ **

**_Grandfather..._ **

**_She. Killed. My grandfather._ **

            Katheryn’s hands tightened against Ezaeur’s neck again, tears falling from her eyes, as the pieces started to make sense. As the story unfolded before her eyes, as the succubus whose neck she had kept on strangling lost her breath, her skin turning a slight purple hue mere shades paler than her marks. As the half-angel guard slowly lost his composure, ready to interfere...

            Her decision was made.

A Queen wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ tolerate that any murderer of her kin lived. A Queen would not, _could not_ tolerate traitors in her mist. A Queen had to be strong, and _decisive_ , especially if said Queen ruled over the Abyssal Plains.

            “ _I **banish** you. You, and your guard, Ezaeur._ ”

The Queen, Katheryn, had heard of some legends. The darkness had told her about a sea not far from the deceased Demon Lord’s castle. About the sea’s curse and the way to break it. About settled debts and _proper retributions_.

She could not forgive Ezaeur for her actions, and keeping Saero around would only bring trouble upon herself. But she would give them a chance. If they were worthy, their souls would find peace. If they _weren’t_...

            A word from her lips, and a portal appeared behind Ezaeur, who was still too dazed trying to get her breath back, to notice _where_ that portal lead her. Saero, her loyal guard, rapidly dashed for her, being thus caught unprepared by the rather abrupt attack from the Demon Queen, the sword piercing his heart from one of his sides, just as he reached his Lady and both of them fell into the dark waters of the Decaying Sea.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

She isolated herself for a whole week after the ordeal, moving through the shadow plane in order to avoid as many people as possible, needing time to deal with her fragmented memories. And the grief of feeling the loss of her grandfather all over again, as fresh as that very first day.

            Her heart was heavy, and so she surrounded herself with work, both in the rules she was slowly applying, to get rid of the caste system from its very roots, as in her training, for she knew that restoring the damage the Demon Lord had left behind would take a lot of her energy. Nibbling another sweet flower, she allowed herself to smile at the energy the fruit gave her. At least, the flowers were enough from now, for all the war prisoners had already been executed, after being drained of their energy via ritual, which would have been all her meal if the boys hadn’t irrupted into her room.

            Although, to be honest, part of her keeping a busy schedule was to avoid as much as possible said incubi. Three of whom she had carelessly fed from, and would have surely hurt gravely if Ezaeur hadn’t stopped her... Which would have been unnecessary had she not ordered her guard to irrupt into her bedchambers while Katheryn was as famished as she had been then, of course.

            In the end, she made herself acknowledge them, if only because news of the lifted curse of the former Decaying Sea assured her she hadn’t just condemned Ezaeur and Saero to an eternal torture. That the darkness hadn’t failed in its counsel.

            She was the Queen, she knew her name, and from what little she could piece from her broken memories, she had met and developed deep bonds with the incubi she had been ignoring.

            First and foremost, she had to apologize.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            Life in Lilith Castle was strangely placid.

Sam could confess that being back in the Abyssal Plains felt _good_ , almost as good as being able to use his powers freely, once Erik, James and him had recovered from...

            Aomaris knew now that what he had seen then hadn’t been real, just a trick from his mind to ease the rather forceful feeding _she_ had taken from him, and yet...

It had been a strangely vivid vision, going back to _that_ moment, seemingly so long ago, when she had allowed him to gorge on her energy, trusting his hold to keep her from falling off the roof. He could have been angry at her and what she did, he guessed. At leaving him so weak he could barely rise from his assigned bed for at least two days, at leaving him lost in dreams and nightmares Damien had barely been able to wake him from, having to deal as he had with Erik’s too. And yet...

            It _had_ been her, as different as she was now, and mostly his mind felt her feeding on him until making him pass out was proper retribution from the time he had done the same to her, even if the circumstances were certainly different.

            He knew Erik had been feeling rather lost, if only from the astounding amount of drawings he kept hiding from them, and so it hadn’t taken much to convince him to join him in his training. The others had followed over the week’s course.

            It wasn’t as if they had to get ready to save the world, or anything of the sort, but truly, there weren’t many things to do in the Abyssal Plains, _especially_ if they didn’t want to get in the way of the generals and their lieutenants, who were usually seen going from place to place, their work not truly diminished even after five years from the war that had apparently been fought against their father.

            Damien had been dutifully collecting as much information as he could on the matter, first from the fallen guard, before his banishment, and later from each one of the generals, who still seemed to avoid them as much as they could, even though all the brothers were well aware of their minion’s eyes on them.

            Their normal routine, though, was interrupted by Katheryn herself, who stood by the door of their training room, holding a tray with thinly cut sweet flowers.

Silence hung heavily upon them, the brothers still trying to get used to seeing her as a demon... _Nay_ , as the _Demon Queen_ , while she still had a rather hard time putting together her memories of their previous time together.

            “I... I was informed of your training. I thought you would have spent a considerable amount of energy, so I brought some Sweet Flowers to help...”

The silence could have stretched forever, but just then Erik came out of his stupor, eagerly going to her side and taking one of her prepared treats.

            “Many thanks, Princess!” he had just taken a small bit of the fruit when he realized how exactly he had called her.

Katheryn giggled, keeping him from trying to rectify himself when he saw the beautiful smile he had thought he would never see again for on her lips, her whole face lighting up with her delight.

            Her face quickly regained her seriousness, though, looking right into his purple yes, sorrow and a touch of shame colouring her own sea-green.

            “I would like to apologize. I didn’t mean to attack you, but that doesn’t change the fact that I did. For that, I’m sorry.”

            “Tsk. There’s nothing to forgive.”

Sam, who had approached with the others, seemed stubbornly trying to keep a nonplussed face on as he, too, took one of her sweet flower treats.

            “Yeah!” said Matthew, almost on time with James’ “ _Indeed, Miss_ ” and Damien’s soft agreeing hum.

Katheryn couldn’t keep herself from beaming again.

She did have a rather time-consuming job, but now, at least, she had the boys back into her life. And if she could barely pull her memories of their past together, then she just had to create new ones. Erik, Sam, James, Damien and Matthew certainly seemed ready to give her another chance.


	6. I Would Die For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sacrifices and dark omens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, had like a thousand words written, my muse changed direction after a random hearing of “Grenade” by Bruno Mars, had to erase everything and start from scratch. Also, still really happy for my dearest friend, NickeltheRed, who’s still being incredibly helpful with this whole endeavour. Thank you, love.

            Everything started when, no less than a year after the boys' arrival, Kathy took her usual breakfast.

She took it alone in her study, already elbows-deep in her work, and didn’t actually see anyone until at least four hours later. She had ordered not to be bothered unless something extremely urgent happened, and mainly due to this, the boys suspected nothing for way too long to be of any use.

            For, when Sam finally decided that Katheryn had to be drawn out of her work if only for a few hours, what he found was her already cold body lying* over her table, all kinds of papers and books around her more or less drenched in blood she must have kept coughing until she finally lost consciousness.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            All she could remember was the pain, sudden and overwhelming, mere seconds after she finished her morning drink. Her throat feeling as if it was being torn up by glass shards, and the blood tainting her work as it left her lips in a rather violent fashion, leaving her unable to scream for help.

            The darkness had come swiftly after, relieving her of any pain, leaving her back in a limbo she couldn’t quite remember, even as she was clearly familiar with it.

Kathy would have been scared if it weren’t for the darkness in her mind, reassuring her as it had always done, and the beautiful silver orb that was circling her. It was family, that much she knew. It was family, and she would be safe.

            Her grandfather regained then his human form, dressed as she had seen last seen him, and Katheryn let herself be lost in his warm embrace. She would be safe. He would protect her, as always...

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            When Harold Anderson first met his granddaughter, he knew that he would do anything for her. He had been by his son’s side, waiting for the birth to end, right there at the hospital, and when they had been allowed in, the magical spark in his granddaughter’s eyes had left him rooted in place for mere seconds, before what he had to do became clear to him.

So much that, without much more than a kiss to the baby, _little Katheryn_ , and a muttered “congratulations” to his son and his wife, he had dashed to get his granddaughter’s placenta before it was thrown away or given up for research. It took some magic, but he managed to get it, and a quick magic scan confirmed that it was, indeed, his granddaughter’s placenta.

            This endeavour would have seemed weird if one didn’t know about a very specific “curse” that would keep a demon magic user as safe one could possibly be, especially being related to Harold’s bloodline. Said curse, to be fully effective, had to be performed not more than twelve hours after the subject’s birth, and so Harold was on a rather short deadline. After all, it would take no less than five hours to get to his house from the hospital, and the ritual _had_ to be done in his house, where he could trust the ley lines to provide at least part of the magic needed for the ritual.

* * *

 

            He _should_ have guessed that his son would keep a close watch on him after his daughter’s birth, somewhat aware of Harold’s _beliefs_ , even if he scorned them quite vocally. It would of course take him longer, for he would have had to make sure that his wife and his daughter were completely okay first, but really, Harold should have taken his son into account and put a repellent effect in the protective barrier that surrounded the ritual room, if only to avoid being found during the last, and most gruesome parts.

            His son would have maybe listened to reason then, if Harold had stopped the ritual to tell him that he wasn’t doing any kind of offering to Satan or anything of the sort, despite what it may seem at first sight.  But to do so could have weakened the curse, leaving his beautiful granddaughter more vulnerable than she could have been, and _that_ he could not allow. So even if his son’s startled (and horrified) gasp hurt him like little had in his life, Harold kept on.

The placenta that had fed his granddaughter for nine months lied in nine pieces, burning with angelica (for fire), burdock (for water), mugwort (for earth) and lavender (for air) ** in the nine hibachi that surrounded him, which his son would have certainly tried to wreck if the protective barrier Harold had put in place mere hours ago had allowed him to get any closer than the room’s entrance.

            He endured his son’s horrified screams, his insults, and every attempt to stop the ritual bravely, up to the point when it came the time to drown the fires in the bronze hibachi with the blood of the one who would pay the curse’s price. His hands were trembling as he took his ritual knife and slashed his right hand, letting his blood fall and end the flames that had been consuming the placenta and the herbs, burning then the blood that had stained his ritual knife to the nine candles he had lit at the start of the ritual, until the blade was hot enough to cauterize his wound.

            With effort, Harold kept himself from muttering any sounds as he did so, the drowned flames in the hibachi flaming again, consuming everything that had been put in them before banishing again, at which point the nine candles’ fires died too, and on Harold’s hand only a white line was left, a sign that the ritual had been properly cast and the price would be paid in time.

            Of course, since his granddaughter wasn’t a full-blooded demon, like Harold’s parents had been, the curse wouldn’t protect her as much as it would an actual demon. Nonetheless, he was happy, for it would protect her, and that was all he could have ever hoped for. Harold was ready and willing to pay the curse’s price at any given moment, even knowing that it would bring his ruin, and _that_ would have to be enough. Demon magic worked better with consent, after all.

            “ ** _What have you done!? Father! You monster!_** ”

He could have tried to explain. His son had always been highly sceptic with anything related to magic or his traditions, his beliefs, but maybe he could have listened then. However, Harold was still dazed by the energy the ritual had taken from him, even with the ley lines’ backing, and his added sense of victory didn’t help him concentrate. So it was easier to take on the punch his son delivered once the barrier allowed him pass.

* * *

 

            Harold would go on for years from then, unable to see his granddaughter, scorned and hated by his son, excluded from his family.

            It didn’t matter. His granddaughter would be as safe as a magic user from their family could be. And, anyway, she found her way back to him.

            The white line in his right hand would always remember him of the price he would have to pay one day, but every time he saw her, Harold was more and more certain that it was a low price to keep such a beautiful being happy and safe.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            “ _Dear..._ ”

It was him. Her silver-haired knight. The darkness in her mind. The magic that surrounded her and protected her as much as it possibly could. The same magic that had mutated with her, been reborn with her, after her pact with Ezaeur.

Katheryn, for that was her name and she wouldn’t forget it again, tried in vain to speak out, to make a sign, even as her body remained irresponsible. She wanted to drown in his safe presence, wrap herself in the metaphorical cocoon of his unconditional love and never go back to... Wherever she had been.

            There was pain, in her vague recollection of that other place, and she did not want it.

An awful realisation was waiting for her there, so she preferred to stay within the safety of her grandfather’s embrace.

            “ _Oh dear, is not your time yet. But worry not, we’ll see each other again. For I’ll never leave you. Not truly. Now go, my dear._ ”

She wanted to protest, but his voice soothed her, and without really meaning to, Katheryn found herself back into her body, feeling weaker than ever, barely able to open her eyes.

 

            Erik, at her left, was the first to notice her newly awakened state, promptly waking Sam, at her right. They then fed her as many sections of sweet flowers as she could be bothered to eat, giving her their energy through chaste kisses to her cheeks.

            It took her weeks to recover, and that same amount of time to be informed of the ordered execution of her four generals, thanks to Damien, Matthew and James’ combined efforts to find out who had tried to kill her (by poisoning her food), while Sam and Erik stayed as her permanent guards and caretakers.

 

            She had been right. The betrayal of her generals left her in almost as much pain as the poison they had tried to kill her with had. Unfortunately, for that pain, there was no prompt cure, nor could her grandfather protect her from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, first.  
> *The poison left her catatonic (instead of killing her, which was what Shadow, Rabbit, Fae and Sergeant wanted).  
> **I’m not a witch nor am I Wiccan, so I’ve had to trust google for the herbs here, which told me that Angelica is related to protection, health, meditation, divination and fire, Burdock with cleansing, protection and water, Mugwort with protection, psychic abilities, divination and earth, and Lavender with protection (hey, are you getting the pattern?), love, sleep, dreams, meditation and air. Thus, all four “mystical” elements.  
> Also, finally, I swear the curse/protection will be explained, although I think I’ve left many hints in this chapter as to what it entails.  
> Thanks a lot for all the support, and again, NickeltheRed, you’re awesome!


	7. Bad Omens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein the Queen gets a warning (and traitors get their comeuppance off-screen).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I got caught up in several fandoms in very short order. And college, of course, always snuffing out my inspiration and will to write. That said, I don’t think there’ll be many more chapters left. So, enjoy!

            “ _Beware! Beware! Beware!_ ”

            “ _He’ll make his move soon..._ ”

            “ _Will your knights prove worthy?_ ”

            _Everything was burning_ , and Katheryn didn’t really know how or _why_. Her throat was raw, as if she had just finished puking rusted nails, and if her life depended on it, she could not cry for help, the closest thing her tortured throat could manage being a rasped gasp, a gargling sound. The rest of her wasn’t much better.

            Fog and soot were everywhere, disrupting her vision and irritating pretty much everything in her, falling like a toxic mantle that would, if allowed, bury her forever within its depts. The fire was somewhat more distant, a mere shape in the horizon, or so it seemed before she felt a harsh burn on her right arm, understanding quickly that she could not trust her eyes.

            A spell would have been enough to clear her way, just few words and she could have gotten a better view of her situation and _what, exactly_ , was going on. But, alas, she still could make nothing but gargling sounds, little gasps that little served her in her situation.

            Her mind was becoming dizzier as the fumes got to her, but she could still see Sam in the distance, large fire wings perfectly in sync with his sword, destroying enemies by the thousands, and yet being slowly overwhelmed, for as many as he destroyed, many more appeared almost at the same time to take their place, his fight apparently never-ending.

            Her ears weren’t working properly, and once Katheryn touched to try to understand why, her hands came wet with what she could barely recognize as her own blood. Nonetheless, she knew _something_ was coming from her left, twisting her whole body as quickly as she could to try and take down whatever it may be, before she saw Erik, red marks mostly hidden by his purple tentacles, making quick work of his enemies... And _passing right through her_ , as if she wasn’t more than a phantom.

            It left her cold, her body trembling at the accosting frost, her blood slipping from her eyes and ears and she curled up right there on the floor, her hands desperately clinging to her hair while she ran out of air, twisting her long locks around her own neck as if that would somehow diminish the agony every breath brought.

And then, she woke up.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            Erik had the misfortune of being too close to her when she awakened, which quite unexpectedly for him, ended up with Katheryn almost tearing his eyes out.

He could not blame her, though, for her expression was clearly unseeing, feral, _desperate_. She had not fully recovered yet, and the nightmares that had plagued her since her first awakening, three weeks after her generals had tried to kill her, were only making her condition worse.

            He wanted to help, and yet the impotence consumed him, for if he dared try to intervene in her dreams, the whole situation worsened considerably. Her nightmares were too vivid, _too strong_ , and the magic within them was too powerful to ignore or subdue in any way. So much so that the very first (and last) time he had tried to interrupt them, whatever magic fuelled them had almost broken his neck. Taking the shape of _Matthew_ , of all people, which strangely had only made it _more_ disturbing.

            Thus, Erik merely kept Katheryn from hurting him or herself, holding her hands in a grasp too tight to escape for her without her magic’s aid, and hugged her tightly, waiting the episode out.

He knew it was safe to let her go once her body finally relaxed against his, her tears wetting his shirt as she brokenly whispered his name, before falling back into (a now relaxed) slumber.

Dealing with her current situation wasn’t easy by any means, and each one of the brothers had tried helping in their own, unique ways. Like James, who was the regent of the Abyssal Plains while Katheryn recovered with Sam’s help. Damien, who was listening for any other traitors or, more generally, whoever wished bad things upon the Queen, Matthew gleefully _dealing_ with whomever his half-brother brought to him. Erik, in part due to his especial power, was in charge of the most direct line of defence for Katheryn.

            Sam used to be by his side in that very matter, but ultimately his inability to help her in any way, regarding her nightmares, at the very least, threatened to drive him mad, and James ended up dragging him into managing the affairs of Katheryn’s realm with him, claiming it was too much for him alone, which all three knew was false, and yet Sam didn’t resist too much, beyond going back by her side at least once every day.

            Truly, the whole affair was nerve-wrecking. That the thrice damned traitors who had tried to kill her remained missing didn’t help matters, either. Nor did the fact that it was becoming more and more obvious that _something_ was going on with Sam.

            Erik could do little more than take care of Katheryn, train, and hope for the best... Until she woke up, seemingly for good.

{ **0 0 0 0** }

            “Uzaeris... _Erik_ , I’m so sorry...”

He hadn’t said a thing and the marks were already healing, but she had seen perfectly well the pattern of her nails across his cheeks to remain unaware of what had most certainly happened.

_‘Ahhh, must I always attack him? Lilith, I do hope this doesn’t become a habit...’_

            “No need to apologise, Princess. You seemed... well...”

            “Terrified beyond reason?” She allowed him to hold her more tightly, snuggling further into him, like a cat basking in a patch of sunlight. _“I was.”_

            “If you wish to tell me about it...” He whispered, as if talking too loud could spook her. As if his warmth alone hadn’t freed her from the clutches of the terrors that had haunted her dreams.

He had reasons to think so, of course. As safe and protected as she felt within his embrace, she couldn’t dismiss the warnings her mind had been painstakingly engraving into her very soul.

            “It would be better to get everyone here,” she told him, leaving his embrace only to look into those mesmerizing eyes of his, her hand caressing his cheek as he was made of easily breakable glass. “I don’t think I could bring myself to say it more than once...”

            Her lips fleetingly brushed his, and then he called on his brothers for her, as his beloved Princess – _Queen_ , now, for years already, that he had _missed_ – snuggled back into him, each warm exhale of hers onto his neck leaving him shivering in an intoxicating way.

 

            Sam was, of course, the first to arrive, freezing in place once he realised there were no threats to tear apart, breath irregular as he struggled to control himself. James, Matthew and Damien arrived in short order, making Erik wonder what they could have been doing together.

            Well, at least until James conveyed with a twitch of his fingers that the traitors had been found and dealt with.

 _‘One less problem,’_ was his first thought. _‘Good riddance,’_ was his second.

            He replied back, _I hope it hurt_ , with what to an outsider would have seemed nothing but a tightening of his lips, a slight narrowing of his eyes. Damien catch his glance then, eyes darkened beyond what Erik had ever seen from him, while Matthew at his side shared quite the deadly smirk. If Sam had bothered to pay attention to their conversation, Erik could not tell for sure, but he would have bet Aomaris hadn’t, if only because his brother’s focus seemed to narrow into Katheryn and Katheryn alone since the awful morning he had found what for _far too many minutes_ they had thought was their beloved’s _corpse_.

            Of course, the woman in question gathered all their attention the moment she turned from where she had been snuggling into him, eyes still somewhat puffy as her whole body tensed again.  

            “I’ve been warned of a threat, of which I now must warn you all...”

 

            As if sensing her further need of comfort, the brothers soon arranged themselves around her, so that she would feel them close. So that she would _feel_ , by their _presence_ alone, that they would help her destroy whatever had dared to threaten her, as they had already done with those who had wished to snuff her life.

            Erik moved to her left, even while still mostly holding her in his lap, Sam naturally taking the place at her right, Damien slipping behind her –between his brothers–, even as James and Matthew settled in front of her, each taking one of her hands and kissing her knuckles. All tension left her then, and she bit her lip, as if unsure of how to proceed.

            “Whatever it is, we’ll remain by your side, and we’ll destroy it together, Miss Katheryn,” whispered at last James, to which she only took a deep breath, closing her eyes and tightening her hold on his hand for a second.

 

            “Hell is upon us,” she said at last, voice steady and unwavering even as her whole body started to tremble. “Satan wants to merge his realm with the Abyssal Plains... and the angels won’t help us to stop him.”

            The words hung heavy upon them, but she wasn’t done.

            “He’ll use Malix as his emissary. Seeing as the devil in question has died once already, with this as his only possible chance to avoid whatever Satan does to those who fail him... I’m afraid he’ll do anything in his power to avoid failing his mission. And I’m well aware his lord has granted him far more power than he used to have...”

            “Then we’ll beat him again,” whispered Sam, before letting himself snuggle into her neck.

            “Angels or no angels–” continued Matthew.

            “We’ll be by your side, and together, bring the end of this absurd scheme,” finished Erik.

            “Never doubt,” said at last Damien, his words slightly muffled because he had taken to nuzzle her nape. “Together, we’re unstoppable.”

 

            What could she do then, but smile?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow my stories keep going wherever they want to go. I feel less like a writer and more like a mere means to an end for them. Well. Whatever. Here you had the (so late, I’m so sorry) seventh chapter!


End file.
